Cultural Constants - Independent Study
Throughout my time here at KCAD, I have been blessed with the opportunities to travel abroad on two separate occasions. The first was during the summer of 2015 where I created a study abroad trip that was approved by the administration to allow us to receive school credit while traveling. Myself along with two of my close friends and classmates then traveled across Europe from Greece to Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland for 6 weeks. The second trip then happened after I received a full scholarship to spend 4 weeks in Perugia, Italy during June of 2016 doing an independent intensive language and culture study through the Universita per Stranieri.
After my travels abroad, I have realized just how similar yet vastly different we are from each other. We eat, drink, cheer on, live in, fight for different things, but we all still need to eat, drink, cheer, live, and fight for something. We are different yet the same. And even with language barriers, we still can communicate through Cultural Constants.
This book’s idea is that no matter what language you speak, we all can read it the exact same way, and we can all come to the same conclusion - we are equal while we are different.
After my travels abroad, I have realized just how similar yet vastly different we are from each other. We eat, drink, cheer on, live in, fight for different things, but we all still need to eat, drink, cheer, live, and fight for something. We are different yet the same. And even with language barriers, we still can communicate through Cultural Constants.
This book’s idea is that no matter what language you speak, we all can read it the exact same way, and we can all come to the same conclusion - we are equal while we are different.
Process.
For 6 - 8 weeks, I started to understand Cultural Constants through the signage and colors used at International Airports. These areas are places that language is almost of little use because there are so many languages that would have to be considered. So, how can we communicate without language? Often times simple graphics, pure colors, and use of form are used for wayfinding and information. My research included looking into Narita Airport in Tokyo, JFK in New York, and Boryspil in Kiev as well as understanding color and its interpretation / use in different cultures.
Final.
When this project finally came to fruition, I wanted to punctuate that even though we may have many different traditions, beliefs, governments, and languages we are still equal. And, we do not need these seperations in order to understand this point.